Systems for distributing and receiving satellite broadcasts are known. U.S. Pat. No. 7,123,875 describes a system for multipoint distribution of satellite digital audio radio service in which a satellite digital audio radio service is distributed to a plurality of receivers that are not independently mobile relative to each other. The receivers may be located in automobiles, hand held or standing units for home or office use. Each receiver includes a channel decoder and a secure decoder to allow for channel selection and audio processing.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,774 describes a digital audio service satellite receiver having switchable operating modes for stationary or mobile use. The receiver is configured to detect the mode in which it is operating. In stationary mode, the receiver unit is configured for pointing the antenna to the satellite which provides the best line of sight reception of the satellite signal. In mobile operating mode, the receiver is operable to dynamically select one of the satellite signals for output or to combine two satellite signals.
Subscription service devices, such as satellite radio and video devices, receive broadcasts if authorized by paid subscriptions. The paid subscriptions are authorized from a central database. If such a subscription is not paid, then the device is disabled from receiving such services. It is desirable for a user with a subscription to be able to activate a variety of devices, such as a home stereo or car radio, with only one device active per subscription at a given point in time. One conventional method to do this is the XM Passport. The XM Passport is a small tuner that can deliver XM satellite radio capability to a variety of devices when these devices are equipped with a docking station or port for the XM Passport to be inserted into. However, this device is relatively expensive, as it contains an XM satellite tuner, it is too large to be convenient and it requires physically plugging the device into a compatible player.
It is desirable to provide a RFID system for subscription services for use with a plurality of subscribers and/or devices.